tan

v. i. To get or become tanned. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. tan, perhaps fr. Armor. tann an oak, oak bar; or of Teutonic origin; cf. G. tanne a fir, OHG. tanna a fir, oak, MHG. tan a forest. Cf. Tawny. ] 1. The bark of the oak, and some other trees, bruised and broken by a mill, for tanning hides; -- so called both before and after it has been used. Called also tan bark. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A yellowish-brown color, like that of tan. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A brown color imparted to the skin by exposure to the sun; as, hands covered with tan. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tan bed (Hort.), a bed made of tan; a bark bed. --
Tan pickle, the liquor used in tanning leather. --
Tan spud, a spud used in stripping bark for tan from trees. --
Tan stove. See Bark stove, under Bark. --
Tan vat, a vat in which hides are steeped in liquor with tan. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Tanned p. pr. & vb. n. Tanning. ] [ F. tanner, LL. tannare. See Tan, n. ] 1. To convert (the skin of an animal) into leather, as by the usual process of steeping it in an infusion of oak or some other bark, whereby it is impregnated with tannin, or tannic acid (which exists in several species of bark), and is thus rendered firm, durable, and in some degree impervious to water. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The essential result in tanning is due to the fact that the tannins form, with gelatins and albuminoids, a series of insoluble compounds which constitute leather. Similar results may be produced by the use of other reagents in place of tannin, as alum, and some acids or chlorides, which are employed in certain processes of tanning. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make brown; to imbrown, as by exposure to the rays of the sun; as, to tan the skin. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To thrash or beat; to flog; to switch; as, to tan a disobedient child's hide. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. [ Chin. ] See Picul. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Same as Banxring. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL. tanagra, probably fr. Brazilian tangara. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of bright-colored singing birds belonging to Tanagra, Piranga, and allied genera. The scarlet tanager (Piranga erythromelas) and the summer redbird (Piranga rubra) are common species of the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the tanagers. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Tanager + -oid. ] (Zool.) Tanagrine. [ 1913 Webster ]